MIAMI (WSVN) - President Donald Trump’s recent decision to roll back Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the United States is prompting outrage across the community in South Florida.
Community leaders decided to take a stand against the decision at a news conference on Friday morning.
“I am deeply disheartened and outraged by the Trump administration’s decision to roll back Temporary Protected Status for thousands of Haitian nationals,” said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Marleine Bastien.
The decision by the Trump administration impacts roughly half a million Haitians living in the U.S. and thousands who call South Florida home. The move would make current migrants under the program eligible for deportation as soon as August.
“This decision not only disregard the ongoing challenges Haiti continues to face — from natural disasters, political instability, economic instability — but it also undermines the values of compassion and fairness that this country stands for,” said Bastien.
TPS is given to people fleeing unrest or danger in certain countries. One of those countries eligible for the program is Haiti.
Many Haitians fled to the United States in recent years following ongoing gang violence in the country.
The Biden administration extended TPS for Haiti amid the unrest in the country last year.
But this week, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the protections have been repeatedly extended, and the administration believes the program has been abused by illegal immigrants for decades.
The Family Action Network Movement, along with community leaders, voiced their concerns on this policy change.
“I come to tell the Trump administration, these are human beings. These are individuals who have families, and these are people who have contributed to this country, and to this state and to our communities,” said Florida State Sen. Shervin Jones.
This policy change toward Haitians comes less than a month after the Trump administration also rolled back TPS protections for Venezuelans migrants.
It is all part of the administration’s ongoing crackdown on immigration, a key promise that President Trump campaigned on.
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